What was your first memory of a Corvette?
#21
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Here is mine back in the day with the annual body style changes it was a big deal to keep the cars secret until unveiled the first Monday of October for the dealer introduction to the public.
Chevrolet sponsored the TV show Bonanza back in those days. On the Sunday night that it played before the dealer new car introduction they would run the show commercial free and save all of that time for the end of the show when they would give you a sneak preview of the cars that would be shown at your local dealer the next day.
In 1962 when I was 12 years old I really had never paid much attention to cars until the night I speak of above.
I was watching Bonanza sitting on the floor and they announced the “brand new 1963 model Chevrolets” the screen went black and we thought something was wrong with the TV. Suddenly a white (at least on our black and white TV) 1963 Corvette coupe appeared on the screen in side profile then entire room around it was black and car was brightly lite, on a turntable slowly turning the entire car to show every angle. it turned to the rear showing the split window and when it got to the front the hidden head lights rolled up. I was MESMERIZED. it was AWESOME!!! I remember thinking to myself, “when I grow up I am going to have one of those cars” It was the beginning of my life long love affair with automobiles. The funny thing is, of all the Corvettes I have owned I have never owned a 63.
Chevrolet sponsored the TV show Bonanza back in those days. On the Sunday night that it played before the dealer new car introduction they would run the show commercial free and save all of that time for the end of the show when they would give you a sneak preview of the cars that would be shown at your local dealer the next day.
In 1962 when I was 12 years old I really had never paid much attention to cars until the night I speak of above.
I was watching Bonanza sitting on the floor and they announced the “brand new 1963 model Chevrolets” the screen went black and we thought something was wrong with the TV. Suddenly a white (at least on our black and white TV) 1963 Corvette coupe appeared on the screen in side profile then entire room around it was black and car was brightly lite, on a turntable slowly turning the entire car to show every angle. it turned to the rear showing the split window and when it got to the front the hidden head lights rolled up. I was MESMERIZED. it was AWESOME!!! I remember thinking to myself, “when I grow up I am going to have one of those cars” It was the beginning of my life long love affair with automobiles. The funny thing is, of all the Corvettes I have owned I have never owned a 63.
Steve
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#22
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When I was about eight my dad came home from work one night driving a silver SWC w/FI. A good friend of my dad had recently bought it and for whatever reason he and dad just swapped cars that night. After supper the four of us (dad, mom, my younger sister, and I) went cruising around town for an hour or so (my sister and I were riding in the back obviously). After that, I was hooked.
#23
Melting Slicks
Mine was sometime in the mid 60's in the back seat of the family car in the middle of winter up around Chicago. Lots of snow on the road - we were following a midyear. He was slipping and sliding all over the road with the back end bottoming out.
#24
Melting Slicks
One of my Dad's friends had a '66 big block convertible...It had been repainted in Lime Green and I thought the car was pure sex...I was only 6 years old! This was in 1972 and the car was already in pretty rough shape since he had previously had some engine trouble and parked the car. Sadly he had let the tires go flat and the car was sitting in his driveway with no protection from the weather Even with all of this going against the car, it was still the most beautiful thing I had ever seen with 4 wheels on it...And is the sole reason I have a Trophy Blue '66 big block convertible today!!
#25
I guess I was about 13 or 14. A friends dad had his girlfriends '70 something 454 and he took us for rides in it. I remember thinking "man, this things slow!". I had been riding dirt bikes for awhile and back then it was hard to beat the 0-60 of a 250 moto-crosser.
#26
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As a 16 YO in 1968, vettes weren't on my radar because I was focused on '65-66 Mustangs or Chevelles since they were financially attainable. One of my best friends, for his first car in late '67, got a '64 or '65 four door, three on the tree, straight shift Comet. And he was a pseudo-car guy! What self respecting "car guy" would ever purchase anything with two, superfluous doors and a six! About 6-9 months later, end or summer 1968, he knocks on my back door and says, " come see what I got". He's 16 also! I walk around the back of our family home and sitting in our driveway, pointing at me, is a '64 Vette coupe, 4-speed. I stood there speechless. No idea of what Hp, but it was the fastest thing I'd ever been in at that point in my life. Huge, huge fun. Attracted LOTS of chicks but just terrible for picking them up! Well... at least when we were both in the car, now that I think about it.
Imagine, from a 4-door Comet to Vette coupe at 16! At this moment he's finishing up the restoration of a '66 L72 maroon vert.... almost exactly like my red '66 L72 vert. I'm hoping to get pics this summer of our vettes and our chicks of 30-40 years.
Imagine, from a 4-door Comet to Vette coupe at 16! At this moment he's finishing up the restoration of a '66 L72 maroon vert.... almost exactly like my red '66 L72 vert. I'm hoping to get pics this summer of our vettes and our chicks of 30-40 years.
#27
Racer
I saw my first Vette on Center Point Road in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1953 or 1954. It was a new Vette, probably a '53, but it may have been a '54. I would have been 8 or 9 years old. It was of course white and was not ever in a garage. It sat on a grass hillside above and north of the single stall garage. Word was that a doctor had purchased it new in CR. After some years it disappeared and I never heard what happened to it.
Does this count as the oldest first memory?
10 years after this first memory I bought my 1963 triple black convertible.
Regards and safe driving to all.
Steve
Does this count as the oldest first memory?
10 years after this first memory I bought my 1963 triple black convertible.
Regards and safe driving to all.
Steve
#28
Burning Brakes
It was in 1961 and I was 12. My dad's friend had a brand new blue convertible and he offered to take me for a ride. I was awed and hooked! I had to have one of these cars. In 1967, after selling my 57' Chevy, I finally had enough money to buy a red 60' convertible. I drove it like I stole it and learned a whole lot about turning wrenches and busted knuckles.
Oh, it also had the red hardtop too.
Oh, it also had the red hardtop too.
#29
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#30
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Route 66 is my first recollection. I didn't grow up in neighborhoods where folks drove nonfamily type cars. My first up close was at Lang's Chevrolet in Fairborn, Ohio when my dad was negotiating a buy of a1968 Impala Custom Coupe. The salesman let me and my little brother sit inside of a '68 Orange Corvette convertible with a 427, I believe. That was cool!
#31
Drifting
Summer 1962, I had been invited to my best friend's grandparent's farm. I was introduced to the grandmother, the grandfather was still out in the cotton fields, now back then the cotton grown in Louisiana grew from 4 to 8 feet tall. In a few minutes I could see dust boiling at a distance out in the field but couldn't see what was making it. Turned out to be the grandfather's white 61 or 62 Corvette. The old man got out of that red interior and introduced himself, to say the least, it made an impression on me. I can still see it like it was yesterday. A couple of months later the Sting Ray was introduced and I was hooked. It would take another six years, but I got my first Corvette, a 64 convertible. Been driving them since I was 19.
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68hemi (03-28-2023)
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68hemi (03-28-2023)
#35
must have been around '69-'70 , me 12 years old , living on the country , when a grey C3 passed our house. I will never forget that sound.... we only had 1200cc/1600cc 4 bangers around here ...
Later on i found out it was the boss of a meat factory in a nearby village.... which still exists.
More, "30" years later that same guy rear ended my Range Rover with his MB... he was on the phone..... MB was total loss.
Don't know how long he had the C3, i remember him mostly seen in a red Ferrari.
Later on i found out it was the boss of a meat factory in a nearby village.... which still exists.
More, "30" years later that same guy rear ended my Range Rover with his MB... he was on the phone..... MB was total loss.
Don't know how long he had the C3, i remember him mostly seen in a red Ferrari.
#36
inspiration
This 65 corvette got me into corvettes I was around 13 years old and the owner was my neighbor and we still talk often 46 years later and later in life built my own .
#37
Burning Brakes
For me - 1960 - I was 10 and my older brothers friend had a blue 59 Corvette - I asked for a ride - when I was seated ... my head was at the level of the chrome molding that wrapped around the top deck cover behind the top of the seat. Why do I remember this?? The friend was a real jerk as he showed off by popping the clutch at high rev to break the tires loose ... slammed my head on that metal trim so hard it's a wonder I did not have a concussion!
On a related note - Here's a picture of my 11 month old nephew in my 1961 ... back in 1969 - he's now 54 years old!
On a related note - Here's a picture of my 11 month old nephew in my 1961 ... back in 1969 - he's now 54 years old!
Last edited by 66BBCoupe; 03-28-2023 at 01:45 PM.
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#39
Drifting
I was born in 1954 and as soon as I was aware of cars in general I had a passion for them, following the evolution of the C1 up to first seeing a 63 Stingray in the showroom of S&M Rose on Tremont ave in The Bronx, I was pretty much frozen to the window staring at that amazing shape. After all these years my passion has only grown.
#40
Melting Slicks
In 1957 I was 9 years old. A woman nurse who worked with my mother bought a new 57 corvette and came over to our home to show it to our family.
After she had been there for a while she asked me if I would like a ride ? No hesitation on my part.
We lived pretty close to a section of 4 lane freeway. The car was red with cream coves and a black interior. I don't know what engine it had and I don't know if it was a 3 or 4 speed , but defiantly a standard shift.
We took off headed for the on ramp. As we entered the road she nailed it and went through the gears and soon were at 100 mph !!!!!
That was it for me. The obsession was born ,
After she had been there for a while she asked me if I would like a ride ? No hesitation on my part.
We lived pretty close to a section of 4 lane freeway. The car was red with cream coves and a black interior. I don't know what engine it had and I don't know if it was a 3 or 4 speed , but defiantly a standard shift.
We took off headed for the on ramp. As we entered the road she nailed it and went through the gears and soon were at 100 mph !!!!!
That was it for me. The obsession was born ,